Semin to suit up

Alexander Semin will suit up for tonight's game against the Maple Leafs, according to GM George McPhee.

Semin had his sore right wrist examined by a specialist earlier today, which is why he missed the morning skate, and there was some concern that the winger wouldn't be back in time for the game. But he has arrived at Verizon Center and is ready to go, McPhee said.

McPhee also said the news regarding his wrist was "good", which means it won't require surgery.

it's something the NHL should learn from... get rid of the fighting and sell the friggin' game!

Posted by: joek443 | January 15, 2010 5:51 PM

@joek443:

other things the NFL Ødoes really wellØ:

--Favor megacorporations (Reebok) over independent businesses (American Needle) when it comes to merchandising agreements,
--Charge exhorbitant amounts of money for even the worst seats in a 40,000-60,000 seat stadiums for a season consisting of what? maybe 11 home games at the most? (compare with NHL: charges less money for more games in smaller arenas).
--Sell food at the games that is both terrible and ridiculously expensive (food at the Phone Booth may not be cheap, but it doesn't suck, either),
--Sue season ticket holders when economic hardship forces them to stop paying for multi-year packages (cough Redskins cough, cough),
--Make exclusive deals with DirecTV so that you have to have a satellite dish to see your team if you are out-of-market...and that $200.00+ still doesn't protect you from missing games that get blacked out at the last minute! Oh, and never mind if you are one of the millions of Americans for whom a satellite dish just can't work.
--Have players whose off-the-field dramas are as widely discussed as their on-the-field performance (Favre,Burris--who would name their kid "Plaxico" anyway?--Vick,Brady; the list goes on and on).

Frankly I like that we can see hockey player's faces, and cheer for individuals as well as for the whole team--it means I can recognize any of the players if I meet them on the sidewalk--not just the ones that have megabuck endorsement deals. I can even look them in the eye when I shake their hands...without having to strain my neck.

This, IMHO, is better than having a bunch of faceless giant robots I might not recognize on the street.

No, I'm sticking with Hockey, even though it isn't perfect (e.g. the endless stream of stinkin' Crosby-love issuing forth from the League offices).

I had a longer post two threads ago but essentially football's very essence is about ritualized warfare--two armies advancing toward each other in highly prescribed highly ritualistic protocols. 18th century warfare. So fighting is the very heart of the sport. Second the NFL markets stars as much as the team, so no I don't buy the "team" concept as advocated by the NFL. Third football is not more popular than hockey by the masses because of fighting. I don't think I need to explain do I-- it is the length of the sport's history in our culture, factors-- ice-- and I could go on. It is NOT about fighting as part of the sport.